Interim Board 4 Ochiel 3

With the League kicking off in the next few days, it is time to acquaint ourselves with scores. And especially the scores in the other board room game that is taking place at the club that is Ours Forever.

First Goal

The Interim Board moved swiftly to allay fears that it will be seeking to be in office for a long time (as long as 60 days) when it quickly announced that the elections will be held on 6^th March 2011. In a statement that has been released to the general public and covered in the daily newspapers as well as the www.afcleopards.net  website, the Interim Board stated as follows:-

The Board appointed  on 23^rd February 2011 by Hon Dr. Paul N. Otuoma, EGH, MP, Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, to manage AFC Leopards Sports Club in the interim and to organize their repeat elections, met today, the 24^th of February 2011, and determined the following;

1.  That the Commissioner of Sports, Mr. Gordon Oluoch, temporary hold the position of Board Chairman.

2.  That the representative of Kenya National Sports Council, Mr. Henry Shihemi holds the position of secretary to the Board.

3.  That the aborted elections of the club be repeated in a Special General Meeting (SGM)  on Sunday, 6^th of March 2011 at Nyayo National Stadium from 7am to 12 noon.

4.  That only the candidates who had been cleared to vie for positions by 10^th February 2011, and only members duly registered by the same date, will be eligible to participate as candidates and members respectively.

5.  That the members’ registers will be available for verification from Monday 28^th February 2011 to Wednesday 2^nd March 2011, at designated member registration centers countrywide.

6.  That candidates wishing to withdraw their candidature may do so in writing to reach the Chairman by 4pm, Monday 28^th February 2011.There will be no swooping of positions nor refund of monies paid to the board.

7.   That the Board formed a four-member Player Welfare Sub-Committee to look into the welfare needs of the playing and technical units during the life of the Board. The sub-committee is headed by Dr. Dan Shikanda and has in its membership Joram Ondere, Charles Bukeko and Fred Nasiche.

8.  That the Board wishes the team the success in its opening Premier League match on Sunday 27^th February 2011 at Nyayo National Stadium.

          Regards,

Chairman of the Board, Commissioner Gordon Oluoch, 0722530444

In effect, this decision of the Interim Board resonates well with those who feel that they should not be in office as they have clearly stated that they want to hand over the reigns of the office to someone who is duly elected.

This is a plus against Julius Ochiel and his group who have come across as pussyfooting because they have upto and including today not announced when the elections will be actually held or if they have, they have indicated merely tentatively that the elections will be held in mid season which will be mid July. Walji was quoted as saying

Regarding the aborted club elections, Walji said the next exercise must be supervised by the Electoral commission of Kenya (ECK).He said the Electoral Board chaired by Sports Commissioner Gordon Oluoch failed in their mandate adding that Kenyans and the entire  AFC Leopards fraternity had lost confidence with them.

‘It was total shame. Apart from their inability to supervise the exercise, the gates at the Nairobi Railway club were brought down. We did a favor to Oluoch team but they failed to discharge their duties since they did not provide adequate security. They totally flopped and that is why I suggest ECK to take charge in the forthcoming election exercise” Observed Walji.

{ECK? LMAO! Maybe he means its successor the IIEC}

In that respect, Ochiel wishes to extend his tenure by a whopping approximately 150 days from the date of the aborted elections yet the Interim Board is limiting its tenure to about 10 days from the date of appointment.

In terms of holding on to power not derived from the members of the club, then Ochiel loses this score and the goal is awarded to the Interim Board.

Second Goal

The second goal is in respect of flow of information. The Ochiel group has been reported to be having numerous meetings but unfortunately, no one gets to know the results of those meetings. Ochiel has been quoted in the print and electronic media, sans the official website, as having written to the Attorney General.

The team has at its disposal the website www.afcleopards.co.ke  yet the website is one of the most dormant and inactive websites that members of the club could follow.

The website has maintained a blackout over the aborted elections and has not even mentioned a single decision taken. N fact, even the appointment of the Electroral Board was never mentioned on the website; the decrease of membership fees was also not mentioned; Ochiel’s reaction to the elections was not made public.

On the other hand, the Interim Board has been active and made its decisions quickly and public.

Goal to Interim Board and boo to secrecy that sorrounds the Ochiel group.

Third Goal

Ochiel has been quoted as having received backing from the FKL which runs football in Kenya and is recognized by FIFA to the chagrin of many in the football fraternity in Kenya. Therefore its credibility levels are quite low.

FKL will also be undergoing elections and perhaps it may not be in their interest to ruffle any feathers, especially those of the Minister.

In any event, FKL does not run the league but KPL does and thus the ultimate recognition should be coming from KPL who will determine whom it will be dealing with.

However, on a balance of probabilities, this could be Ochiel’s score as having the backing of the association (or company noting that FKL is a company) to which Leopards is affiliated may be advantageous however bad it looks.

2-1.

Fourth Goal

This involves actual running of the team. The Ochiel team seems to still be in charge and in fact, the treasurer was quoted as saying the team replica jerseys are on sale at the designated shop in the Central Business District.

Photo Credit: Fredrick Lutta FB Branch

This is reflected in the interview reported on Michezo Afrika and the except reads:-

The 2011 AFC Leopards (Ingwe) replica T-shirts are now available to the club fans ,the club treasurer Amin Walji Junior has disclosed. The Adidas branded T-shirts were described by Walji as of high quality that can be compared to none. The merchandise arrived on Wednesday from overseas.Walji said the T-shirts will be sold  at  Shop number 11 located  at Nairobi’s  Imenti House that is situated opposite Nairobi Sports  House. Owing to its high quality and shipping Charges, Walji said  they will be retailing  at Shs.1,500. The Imenti Shop will be the exclusive outlet for all Afc Leopards’ merchandise in Nairobi. He pointed out that arrangements are being made to have the club merchandise available in other parts of the country as well.

To this effect, it appears that the Ochiel group still has control of the team (key word APPEARS) and no one is stopping it from carrying out its functions. If the Interim Board was in charge of the team, they would have for instance gone ahead and warned the Ochiel group from masquerading as officials and taken over the team. But to the extent that the Interim Board has not been able to do that, then Ochiel seems to score this goal, though it could be an offside goal depending on what you read next.

Its 2-2.

Fifth Goal

Mumias Sugar, the shirt sponsors of Leopards (or the player’s sponsors as they said they are) have come out in support of the Interim Board.

The Interim Board leads 3-2!

How silly it must look for Ochiel’s group to score the equalizing goal above by launching the shirt that has MUMIAS SUGAR on the chest only for Mumias Sugar to come out and say: These fellows who are launching our shirts, we do not recognize them!

It is a serious setback to the Ochiel group since they are deriving most of their financing from the sponsor and without any form of recognition, then the sponsor can move its supply to the Interim Board or to the Board that is elected.

That will be a determinant of the potential dilemma that Ochiel will face. If he boycott’s the 6^th March 2011 elections, he will have to go back to court to get some form of recognition since Mumias Sugar will seemingly back the winners of that election. 

If he participates in the elections, then he will be acknowledging that the Interim Board is the one that is in office.

And if he goes to court to challenge the elections, he will be going against the wishes of his sponsors. That is Ochiels headache. As for Ingwe Fan, the goal is credited to the Interim Board.

Sixth Goal

The Interim Chairman of AFC Leopards according to the Interim Board is Gordon Oluoch? Come on! That is an own goal by the Interim Board. First, his name starts with the word ‘Gor’. Enough said. Or maybe not. You could read some criticism about him here.

Its 3-3!

Seventh Goal

Whilst everybody is consumed in this soap opera at Leopards, there are news that filtered in that some of the players that have been signed by Leopards may be barred from playing in the League that starts this weekend.

The story is carried out in the Standard here

Excerpts:-

KPL CEO Jack Oguda confirmed having received the complaint on the players and were sorting it out with Leopards. "We have asked the club and JMJ to furnish us with certain documents to help us get to the bottom of the matter. "For now, we may not allow the players to feature for their club until the matter is resolved," he said. Last season, the Academy rented out 12 players to Leopards who were supposed to go back last season and the latest row has erupted because the five remained at ‘Ingwe’ without JMJ’s permission. The players include Samuel Mwangi, Bernard Mangoli, Douglas Okumu, Milimo Milton and Edwin Simiyu Wafula

If this turns out to be true, then it will show the general incompetence of the office of Ochiel as the dispute ought to have been settled way before the League kicks off. This will go down as an Own Goal against Ochiel as it will be a demonstration of serious goofing.

4-3.

It is still the 60^th minute and the Ochiel group could pull a surprise. If they do not rally to equalize and go ahead, then their goose is cooked. The law can be on your side but if the people are not on your side, then whom would you be purporting to lead if the leadership position is for leading the people. And if your sponsors also run away from you, you have to make up your mind fast. Because we may son be going into the last minutes of the game.